Appliances such as washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, and others may include one or more doors for providing access to various internal compartments. For example, a top opening wash machine may include a door covering an opening to the wash chamber whereby articles of clothing may be added or removed. During operation, the door remains closed so as to provide sound abatement, contain fluids, and prevent the user from accessing the chamber during a spin mode.
Conventionally, the door may be attached to the appliance through simple, mechanical hinges that allow the door to freely pivot or swing between open and closed positions. Depending upon the location and configuration of the hinges, gravity may assist in moving the door along the pivoting travel path between an open and a closed position. For example, for a top loading washing machine, gravity may pull the door towards a closed position over the wash chamber once the user rotates the door past a certain point. Similarly, over a least a portion of the pivoting travel path, gravity may also assist in moving the door to its fully open position. For example, one the user raises the door to a certain point, the door may fall back towards a user interface on top of the washing machine to a fully open position.
Such simple mechanical hinges commonly do not provide any resistance to the pivoting movement of the door. As such, unless the user carefully controls the movement of the door between the open and closed position, the door may freely drop into position. Depending upon the distance over which the door is allowed to fall, the impact of the door with the rest of the appliance may create an undesirable noise and potentially damage the door or other portions of the appliance.
A potential improvement to the simple mechanical hinge is the use of one or more dampeners in addition, or in place of, such hinges. Such dampeners provide resistance to the movement of the door over its rotational or pivoting travel path thereby preventing the door from falling freely into the open or close position. As such, the dampers can prevent the undesirable noise associated with the falling door and can prevent related damage.
The dampeners may include springs, fluids, or other components to resist the movement of the door. Typically, these components cause the dampener to be much larger in size relative to a simple mechanical hinge. In addition, more than one dampener may be required to properly control the movement of the door.
In order to provide consumer appeal, the design of an appliance includes consideration of aesthetics—particularly for those portions of the appliance readily visible during use. For example, streamlined shapes for the overall appliance including the door can be desirable to consumers. The incorporation of materials such as plastics that can provide needed strength and desired shapes while also reducing bulk and weight is also desirable. Unfortunately, placing the dampeners in locations where such are readily visible to the consumer may detract from the aesthetics of the appliance and, therefore, consumer appeal. The dampeners tend to be somewhat bulky components that can interrupt otherwise streamlined shapes and surfaces of the appliance.
Accordingly, an appliance having a door provided with one or more dampeners for controlling the movement of the door would be useful. Such an appliance in which the dampeners are hidden from user view by being incorporated within other portions of the appliance would be beneficial. Incorporating one or more dampeners in a manner that provides the necessary strength for repeated operation of the door would be particularly helpful. Dampeners that can be used and incorporated in such an appliance would also be very useful.